Layla Love, Peace Book, 2006. Silver print, 11 x 14 inches (27.9 x 35.6 cm). Edition 2 of 10. Signed.

Layla Love is an established photographer that splits her time and work between New York and London. Love’s passion for film has been apparent since the age of 12. Since then, she has never strayed far from the darkroom, or from her dedication to interdisciplinary thinking. Her latest show, “Lucid Dreaming,” included negatives extracted from past moments, shared with the viewer in limited editions and inimitable imagery.

This May, Layla Love experienced a monumental stepping-stone in her career when her artwork was included in The White House’s permanent collection. She is also an artist represented in the Tiffany Co. collection, The Alex Grey Foundation, and The Women’s Museum in Dallas.

A Visual Voice:
Love describes her artwork as “a vehicle to explore the inner landscape of the human experience.” With a Bachelors of Arts degree in Visual Communications and Journalism from the University of California, Santa Cruz, Love ‘s artwork often provokes a transformative change. She is an artist that believes in socially conscious individuals, and utilizes her talents in partnership with non-profit and community-based organizations.

A prominent human rights activist, Layla Love has worked with women’s organizations such as the National Woman’s Organization (NOW) and the Women’s Media Center. The primary focus of her body of work has been women who dare, the voiceless and the renown, including the subjects Liz Abzug, Gloria Steinem, Ani DiFranco, Tori Amos, and Alice Walker and Amy Goodman.

As a photojournalist and documentary photographer, Layla Love attempts to lend a voice to the oppressed. She has traveled extensively, receiving her first assignment with Student Reporting CNN in 1999, and has since continued to photograph human disparities in Southeast Asia, West Africa, and Eastern Europe. Many of these experiences have been translated through the expression of art and social change; in the upcoming documentary about Layla Love’s life, produced by Tarmak, the filmmakers encapsulate this process.

Featured Exhibitions:
Layla Love’s solo exhibition, “Art Heals,” was privileged to have the honor of showcasing at The National Arts Club in 2009, thanks to the avid support of Anthony Haden-Guest and Catherine Johnson. The National Arts Club exhibition was followed by a series of four exhibitions at the Baron Gallery in New York. London-based international representative Eric Franck, who represents the Norman Parkinson and Henry Cartier-Bresson archives, included Love’s photography in the exclusive “Paris Photo Expo.” Her photo, TITLE, was sold in November 2010 at Harrod’s of London, and in addition, Love continues to grow and gain familiarity among collectors as a recent participant in the Miami Basal Art Fair.

Layla Love was shown alongside Andy Warhol, Mapplethorpe and Basquiat in the exhibition, “The Black and White Show,” The AP Track curator who brought the exhibition to Collective Hardware, Amy Rosi, embraces the artist’s work stating, “Layla’s beautiful energy is transmitted into her work. As a collective, we are drawn to her international voice, which sees no color, race, gender or religious differences. Diversity is key in our company, in the artists we represent, and in our view of the world.”

BA in Journalism and Visual Communications from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Member of Women In Photography International, London, UK.[laylalove.org]